High School Journalism Students Learn from Pros on Campus

During the week of August 11, eight aspiring journalists will come to SUNY Buffalo State for inspiration and instruction from some of the field’s best practitioners during the third annual Summer Workshop for High School Journalists.

The college's Communication Department is hosting the workshop for students who will be juniors or seniors in the fall. Over the five days, they will learn about research, interviewing techniques, writing, social media, video recording, and ethics.

"As the news business continues to change and expand, we realize the value of giving high school students a taste of the careers that are possible for them—and the skills they will need to prepare for those careers. It’s also an opportunity to showcase the excellent journalism program we have here at Buffalo State,” said Annemarie Franczyk, workshop coordinator, journalist, and associate professor of communication. “Every year we are impressed by the talent we are able to bring to campus to run the workshop.”

This year’s instructors are: video artist and faculty member Brian Milbrand; Buffalo News reporter Matt Spina; Live! Starring ... You founder and faculty member Tim O’Shei; social media expert and faculty member Jack Karlis; and Franczyk. Additionally, on Monday during lunch, WIVB-Channel 4 reporter Brittni Smallwood will discuss journalism careers with the students. Likewise, lawyer Gabe DeMaio, faculty member and program director at WNED, will discuss legal issues affecting scholastic media during lunch on Tuesday.   

Buffalo State communication majors Colleen Young and Nate Hughes will assist with the conference that will be based in Donald Savage Theater and Communication Building, starting at 9:00 a.m. each day. However, students will be reporting from various locations across campus, interviewing sources across disciplines, and producing multiplatform news packages, inclusive of text and visual elements, by the week’s end.

Students' work will be posted online. Story packages produced by the 2013 summer group can be found at http://journalismhighbsc2013.blogspot.com/.